Beth Ditto on coming out and possibly losing weight

In a recent interview with Germany’s version of In Touch magazine, lesbian singer Beth Ditto revealed how she came to the conclusion that she was gay, dishes about her possibly gay ex-boyfriend, and discusses her insecurities about her weight.

Caveat: I’ve been told that the interview in In Touch is somewhat garbled. It is most likely a German translation of an interview with Ditto in English. The following is an attempt by a native German speaker and me to translate the garbled German back into English. (We also have a bad case of food coma, so please bear with us.)

In Touch: What do you have to say about people being intimidated by you?

Beth Ditto: I haven’t noticed that yet. But I think that many people may be afraid of me. Maybe they’re intimidated, because I am a lesbian. Most men are scared by that.

IT: When did you know that you liked women?

BD: I wasn’t sure until I was 15. I started hating my friends’ boyfriends and was jealous of them. Then I knew that I couldn’t be with men.

IT: Have you ever been with a guy?

BD: Yes, at school I had a steady boyfriend for three years. We broke up at least three times, because somehow I always knew that I liked girls. Fortunately he was very understanding, but I was sort of just dating him because I thought he was gay. [laughing]

IT: Were you afraid of coming out?

BD: No, I always thought it would go well. The problems with my coming out started much later. I don’t want to be labeled as such, but I’ve been suffering from depression.

BD: Well, I was never mocked, and I was always able to defend myself by joking around. But sometimes it has been painful and it has hurt my feelings.

IT: How did you cope with that?

BD: I just didn’t let it show. I was always cheerful. That’s the way we fat people are. If we were not grinning all the time, then we would probably be totally frustrated. [laughing]

IT: Would you ever consider going on a diet?

BD: Well I have been contemplating as to whether I should go on a diet. I cannot ignore the whole world, but I want to accept the way that I am and I don’t want to change. Life is too short for that! [laughs]

“Concede”? To whom is Beth Ditto “conceding” that she should lose weight? The public? The forces behind Trimspa? Vogue? Oh wait, I don’t think so.

Beth Ditto is plus-sized. OK, we get that. But since no one is affected by her weight except herself, it was a bit presumptuous to assume that commenting about her own insecurities about her weight was a concession to anyone.